The Journey 2.

Autumn. The Kingdom Of Terrindim. In The East Of The Continent.

Daeliss lands just outside the town of Mormass. She gives Sunbeam a slap of affection as he lowers his head and neck so that she can dismount.
"A hard fight" says Sunbeam the dragon.
"That it was" says Daeliss the dragon rider when she's out of the saddle and on the ground.
"I like it not" says the burnt orange coloured dragon, who spreads his wings before he settles back down upon the ground.
Daeliss nods her head in agreement, then says to her dragon "I'll just go and see what's going on".
Sunbeam grunts, then snorts before he gently touches Daeliss with the tip of his nose, and tells her "You do that".
The dragon rider nods, then turns around and heads towards town.
While all around them, ships in the fleet are coming down to land.
Many are damaged, and barely flying after this morning's battle.
Airships of all sizes are landing around the town of Mormass. From small, single masted picket ships. To large triple masted battlecruisers and everything in between.
Even the supply ships and transporters of the fleet are coming into land after this morning's hard fought battle, which took place just a dozen miles to the southeast, and ended just a little while ago, when both factions broke off.
Daeliss knows that the battle only ended because one of the enemy dragons was killed.
Otherwise her prince's faction would of been defeated, as she looks around and sees that there's an awful lot of the fleet missing as they come into land.
Daeliss, a third generation dragon rider from Halvarc in western Terrindim. Whose family has had Sunbeam from the egg.
Looks away to the right, and spots a twin masted destroyer that she recognises.
The dragon rider, who has just recently turned nineteen. Makes her way over to the destroyer The Dragon Flame, which her cousin Jarmic is the captain of.
"Jarmic!" calls out Daeliss when she spots her cousin, who is helping some of his wounded crew members off the destroyer.
The ship's captain, the older cousin by nearly a decade, hurries down the cargo netting over the starboard side hull, and joins his younger cousin on the ground.
"What the hell happened?" asks Daeliss the dragon rider.
Jarmic after quickly looking around, and spotting Sunbeam lying nearby, stretched out on the ground, enjoying the sunshine of midday, after the cool morning this early autumn day. Tells his younger cousin what he saw during the battle this morning.
Daeliss listens on as Jarmic tells her of how the Dragon Flame after taking out an enemy warship, and disabling another. Went in pursuit of another of the enemy vessels. Which was hell bent on chasing after a small, sleek looking airship. That was caught up in the battle between the two factions.
There were a few innocent, third party vessels in and around the air battle. Foreign ships that obviously didn't know what was going on.
And though one was destroyed, and a couple others fled. One flew up and above the battle, trying to avoid it. Until it was attacked by a number of the enemy warships.
It was this vessel, that the enemy warship that the Dragon Flame was in pursuit of, went after.
"Whatever or whoever that small ship was, they were damn quick" says Jarmic, who like his younger cousin is blond, and lean of frame.
The older of the two cousins, as he continues to watch the wounded being taken off his destroyer, says "They destroyed at least two of the enemy that we saw" followed by "And the third, which we were chasing after, was badly burnt along the bow of it".
Jarmic lowers his voice, and quietly adds "Sarvon" referring to the sorcerer who serves in his crew "Says that there was a powerful cleric and a mage on that small ship" continues the captain of the Dragon Flame.
Daeliss the dragon rider winces when she hears that, then quietly says "Hell" followed by "Good thing none of ours tried to attack it".
Captain Jarmic of the Dragon Flame nods in agreement with his younger cousin.
It's no secret that both factions will attack any innocent ships that get in their way during a battle.
They want the skies to be clear when they're warring against one another.
And if that's means destroying any vessels that stray into the patch of the sky where they're battling, then so be it.
The two cousins just know that luck was on their side that none of their fleet decided to attack the small, sleek looking vessel that found itself in the middle of this morning's battle between the two warring factions.
"What about that dragon?" asks Daeliss, who continues with "What happened there?".
"It had just destroyed the Flaming Breath" says captain Jarmic with a grimace.
His younger cousin the dragon rider grimaces too, as the battlecruiser the Flaming Breath was one of the most successful warships in their fleet. It's loss, along with it's crew, will be sorely missed.
"I didn't see what happened next" says Jarmic, who continues on with "But all of a sudden that red dragon was dropping like a stone".
Daeliss nods, she didn't see what happened either. The first she knew of the enemy dragon being dead, was when Sunbeam mention that it was lying dead on the ground.
"Think that small foreign ship had something to do with it?" asks the young dragon rider, who out of her generation in the extended family, she was chosen by Sunbeam to take the saddle.
Which was only appropriate to her. Considering her father was the dragon's previous rider. And her grandmother before that.
"I can't see how" says Jarmic "No matter how powerful that mage and cleric were onboard it, no way could they kill a dragon" adds the captain of the Dragon Flame.
Daeliss nods in agreement, for she knows that spellcasting against a dragon is useless. As they're immune to magic.
And true, indirect magic might effect them. Like someone flinging something heavy at them, to try and deplete their natural wards.
Even in a best case scenario, that might only injure a dragon, not kill it.
The only way to kill a dragon is if another dragon kills it.
"Well something happened to that dragon" says Daeliss the dragon rider, who then adds "The sooner we find out, the better" she briefly pauses before quietly continuing with "We don't want that happening to one of ours".
Captain Jarmic nods in agreement with his younger cousin, then gestures away to the left, where near Sunbeam is basking in the midday sun, he says "Firelight is coming into land".
Daeliss turns, and sees Malfane's deep yellow coloured dragon coming into land.
The other dragon rider in this fleet of their faction, has been keeping an eye on the remainder of the fleet as it comes into land, here around the town of Mormass.
Nodding towards the town, Daeliss asks her older cousin "Is he here?".
Knowing who exactly Daeliss is referring to, Jarmic says "Sarvon says he isn't" followed by "But his advisor lord Ganulf is".
The dragon rider sourly smiles at the mention of the nobleman's name. A conservative in the faction, he doesn't believe a commoner like Daeliss should be a dragon rider. Even though her family has had Sunbeam from the egg.
Jarmic softly chuckles, then says "Good luck dealing with him" followed by "I'm just a simple ship's captain, beneath the notice of someone like the advisor".
"Hardly simple" dryly says Daeliss the dragon rider, who knows that her cousin Jarmic is one of the best captains in this fleet. So much so, than even though he's common born like the rest of their family. Admiral Halmack has him on his planning staff.
With a nod of his head to the left, captain Jarmic says "Here comes sir Malfane" the older of the two captains "I should get back to seeing about the wounded".
Daeliss nods, then quietly says "I'll see you later" then she makes her way over to her fellow dragon rider, sir Malfane, who is heading into town.
"How's Sunbeam?" asks sir Malfane "He's fine, not a scratch" is the reply of Daeliss, who then asks "How's Firelight?". "The same, she's fine" says the nobleman.
Dragon riders, being dragon riders. They'll ask about the wellbeing of one another's dragons before they'll even ask how each other are doing.
Then after they ask how each other are, sir Malfane does admit "One of their damn spellcasters got smart and started biffing chunks of a broken ship at me and Firelight".
The nobleman who is also from the western province of Halvarc, continues with "Took a fair bit of damage to Firelight's wards before we found the ship he was on, and scorched the bugger".
Daeliss nods, as that's the best way to attack a dragon if you don't have another dragon at your disposal.
Sir Malfane, an older man in his mid forties, who has been a dragon rider just a few years, only a few months longer that Daeliss, who took Sunbeam's saddle just after she turned sixteen.
Looks around and grimaces, then quietly says "We've taken a lot of losses".
"I know" quietly says Daeliss, who may only be common born, as her fellow dragon rider walking beside her is nobleborn.
But that doesn't mean anything to the dragon riders. As they all, from the highest of nobles, to the lowest of peasants. All see themselves as equals.
For once you have a dragon at your command. You're the most important weapon in the faction you happen to be in.
"We lost the Flaming Breath" quietly says Daeliss, sir Malfane winces at hearing the demise of one of best battlecruisers not just in this particular fleet, but their entire faction.
"Fuck" mutters the nobleman from the western province of Halvarc.
After he sighs, he looks back and says "I see your cousin's ship has taken damage" he continues with "They alright?".
"A number of wounded and injured" says Daeliss, who continues with "One of the masts is down, looks like a spell got through and hit them".
The older dragon rider nods, then as he looks around at the numerous damaged warships, and he quietly and bitterly says "Looks like a number of their spells got through".
Daeliss nods in agreement with that as the two of them walk into the town of Mormass.
The town is walled, and surrounded by farmland. There's probably three hundred homes in the town, and a few inns. A prosperous town, that's overflowing with people at the moment, since the fleet is using it as a base at the moment.
"Well, we might of taken a number of losses this morning" says sir Malfane, who then looks sideways at the lean, blonde young woman beside him as he adds "At least we got one of their dragons" after a brief pause, he asks "How did you do it?".
"I didn't" says Daeliss, much to the surprise of the nobleborn dragon rider, who stops and blinks in disbelief.
"Then how the hell is it dead?" asks sir Malfane.
Daeliss quickly tells her fellow dragon rider what her cousin Jarmic saw from onboard his destroyer the Dragon Flame.
"Well, that doesn't make sense" mutters the nobleman as they set off again, heading towards the inn, that their faction is using as their headquarters here in Mormass.
"I know" quietly says Daeliss, who like Firelight's rider, wonders how the enemy dragon was killed.
"You know who it was?" asks the young woman who is the rider of the dragon Sunbeam referring to the enemy dragon and rider.
"It was a bright red one" says sir Malfane, who continues with "So it was probably Blaze something, or something Blaze as they tend to call ones that colour".
The nobleman from the west of the kingdom adds "I'll have to check the books to see who it was, and who the rider was".
Daeliss nods, then she quietly says "He's not" in reply to the older dragon rider asking her "You know if the prince came in this morning?".
The rider of Sunbeam the dragon is quiet for a few moments as they turn onto a packed street.
Soldiers, air sailors, and locals a like, all part for the two dragon riders, who are easily identifiable by the leathers they were, and the cavalry blades they have on their hips.
Then Daeliss quietly says to the nobleman from her home province "The prince's advisor, lord Ganulf is here though".
Sir Malfane grunts, then frowns at the mention of his fellow nobleman, and doesn't say anything about him.
It's no secret amongst those at court, and throughout the fleets in their faction.
That the prince's advisor doesn't like the nobleman from the poorer lands in the province of Halvarc.
For the simple reason, sir Malfane, who is not from an important noble family. Was picked by the dragon Firelight to be her rider. Considering his family, in their entire history has never had a dragon rider.
Unlike lord Ganulf's extended family, who on and off for centuries has had riders of dragons.
The prince's advisor was hoping to be the next. But Firelight turned him down, just like hundreds of other candidates.
Lord Ganulf couldn't very well try to be the rider of Sunbeam just a few months after his rejection by Firelight.
For the simple reason that Sunbeam, since the egg, has been in Daeliss Komav's family.
And there's no way a dragon will pick a rider outside of the family that's had it since the egg.
For the Komav family, like untold others, both commonborn and noble. Throughout the kingdom of Terrindim, are egg raiders.
Those who try to find and steal eggs of dragons in the wild. And though it's very rare thing to do. Often only happening once or twice in a generation. When it does happen, the kingdom is sent into turmoil.
As is happening now, as there's two warring factions at the moment. Fighting over what's most precious in the entire kingdom.
A dragon egg, that's only recently been found. And now those warring factions are vying for those who have found, or that really should be, stole the egg from the wild dragon that laid it. To join one faction or the other.
As they approach the inn that's being used as their headquarters here in the town of Mormass, Daeliss Komav the dragon rider quietly says "For all our losses this morning, there's one good thing to come out of the battle".
The young woman from the west of the kingdom quietly continues with "With one of their dragons dead, our side becomes a lot more attractive for that lot who found the new egg".
"You'd think so" quietly says sir Malfane, Daeliss glances at her fellow dragon rider, as she clearly heard the uncertainty in his voice there . . . . . .